SIU Med School Announces Three Research Awards

Three awards have been announced by the Department of Pharmacology at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield.

The Barbara L. Armour Memorial Award was presented to Miao Jennifer Li, a researcher in the obstetrics and gynecology department, for excellence, dedication and contributions to scientific research. She is a graduate of BeiQuErn Medical University in Chung Chun, China, where she earned her degree in science medicine. She is married to Jason Zhang. The Armour award was established to commemorate Barbara Lawhorn Armour, a pharmacology researcher, who died in 1995.

The Satu M. Somani Memorial Award was presented to Dr. Benjmain R. Morgan, a 2006 SIU graduating senior from Morton. The award is presented to a senior medical student for outstanding performance in pharmacology and therapeutics. Morgan is the son of Dr. Richard L. Morgan of Marion and Kathleen Henderson of Nashville, Tenn. He is a graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa, where he earned his bachelor’s degree (2001). The Somani award was established in memory of Satu M. Somani, Ph.D., who was an SIU professor of pharmacology and toxicology from 1974 until his death in 2002.

The Hemal Vakharia Memorial Award was presented to Maria A. Ray, a graduating senior from the University of Illinois at Springfield, for her summer work in the pharmacology laboratory of Linda Toth, Ph.D., D.V.M., associate dean for research and faculty affairs. The award is presented to a high school or college student who has provided significant assistance to faculty research. The award was established in memory of Hemal Vakharia, a summer help student who died in an automobile accident in 1992.

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